


Binding Lives

by Turtletails



Series: Bonds do not mean Happiness, but the People in them do. [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Sentinels & Guides, Alternate Universe - Sentinels and Guides Are Known, Doing things as ass-backwards as possible, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Multi, Not Coulson, Not Iron Man 3 Compliant, Not Thor: The Dark World Compliant, Not everyone likes Sentinels/Guides, OT6, Pepper Pots Has the Patience of a Saint, Phil Coulson Has the Patience of a Saint, Protective Avengers, Protective Rhodey, Rhodey Is a Good Bro, Sentinel/Guide, everyone has trust issues, plus one, slow-build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-16
Updated: 2014-09-22
Packaged: 2018-02-16 16:42:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,955
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2277096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Turtletails/pseuds/Turtletails
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony, for all his being a Guide, had never felt any connection with a Sentinel. Ever. So he went about his life, ignoring how there seemed to be a sucking hole within him. He focused mostly on his robots and doing nearly anything to make the ache lessen. That lead to a near life ending spiral of binge drinking, sex and black out inventing. Until Afghanistan. Until Coulson and SHIELD, who bring in not one but six Sentinels into his life and reawakens the raw ache he had been running from. Only there were a few of them that he was certain hated him and one who just might end up putting a sniper round in his head. But that was fine; he only needed one Sentinel anyway. Right?</p><p> </p><p>(NOT ABANDONED! Just really slow updates cause I have a month to find a job.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a fill of this prompt here: http://avengerkink.livejournal.com/19458.html?thread=47000066#t47000066
> 
> Hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Edit: so for whatever reason, AO3 did not post the whole darn chapter!!! So once more, here is the whole chapter one.

It was difficult, being something she was not. Hiding away a part of herself so at least the beatings would stop. There once was a time when what she was had been praised. At least she thought that had actually happened. A time when her bed was warm and she went to sleep with an almost full stomach. A time when her name was spoken with praise and, if she still believed in such a thing, what might have been love. Those were all vague memories at best though. And she held tightly to them, keeping them hidden deep within her mind. 

Along with the knowledge that she was a Sentinel. The Red Room and its Masters had tried to cut that part out of her like they had everything else. But it was perhaps the one thing they could never truly touch. They could take the memories of her family, her name and any illusion she had once harbored about ever finding the right Guide. (What Guide, after all, would be able to look into her and not be repulsed by what they saw?) But she still had that small piece of herself from Before. 

It helped her make it through the beatings. Through the endless pseudo lessons on torture and killing. The sessions with a twisted Guide who used his talents to try and shatter the parts of her that would connect with _her_ Guide if she should ever find them. It was entirely possible that knowing what she was had kept her from going insane like she had seen so many of her fellow students do. She used the tricks she learned from that twisted Guide to hide away information; learned how to keep secrets even from a Guide. (Yet another reason to never bond with her Guide.) After that, and her first cluster fuck of a mission, she went hunting for anything she could find on what a Sentinel and Guide were. 

Sentinels, she already knew, have senses five times stronger than a normal humans. Making a touch feel either explosive in pain or irritating to the point of near madness. Sight and sound become overwhelming in the cities and smell could nearly bring her to her knees when she had been a child. Hearing was the easiest to manage; if she had been allowed access to the specialized hearing-aids created for Sentinels. 

What she had lacked in information was so much more. For Sentinels were not just the sum of their heightened senses. They were meant to be protectors, guardians in a way. Primitive tribes had once hailed them like they were gods, come to protect their followers. The trend continued in history with Sentinels being the best form of protection. Even now people with money paid outrageous prices to have Sentinels guard them. They paid even more if the Sentinel was bonded to a Guide. 

She nearly didn’t look into the information about Guides. The oily feeling of the Twisted One rooting about in her mind nearly made her stay away from it all. But common sense over rode her weariness. That was how she learned that Guides should not be inclined to such things. Guides were empaths, with most working in the healing fields. Not too surprising, considering Sentinels were often getting into the kind of trouble where they would be shot at. They were not weaker than Sentinels though, after all they could take someone apart with their empathy gifts just as easily as they could heal. 

Bonded pairs were the strongest though. A Guide would ground and center a Sentinel; helping them filter the extra sensory input on top of keeping them nearly impossibly calm in stressful environments. While a Sentinel would not just protect the Guide, but would also shield them from the pressing emotions of everyone around them. To bond was nearly instinctive. And given the advantages, she could almost agree that it was a good thing. 

Bonding was a mental thing, though. It required a trust that she no longer possessed. Still, every Sentinel had a Guide. She might not bond with them, but she could still protect them. Using the skill set that had been beaten into her by the Red Room no less. Yes, that is what she would do. Even if the thought alone made something ache deep within her. It would be much later when The Black Widow, also known as Natasha Romanoff, would learn about the rare bonds; the ones that left both Sentinel and Guide feeling empty and aching for something they couldn’t find. Or the one’s where two Sentinel’s could bond with the same Guide. Even knowing that, it still surprised her when she realized the type of bond she would have. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m going to advise you not to run, or cause a commotion.” The voice on the other end of the line was male. Natasha, known as Nala today, had very nearly not picked it up. Something had compelled her to answer her burn phone. No one should have been calling her, not in the middle of her clean up. Still, someone was. 

“I have a clean line of sight to your heart and even with you being a Sentinel, I do not miss.” The only reaction Natasha gave to this was a slight turn so she could scan the rooftops around her. He knew? How? She had kept that hidden, destroyed anything that might link that knowledge to her. 

“You have my attention. What do you want?” Her voice was tense, holding just the hint of an accent as she spoke. He laughed over the line. A surprising sound that almost got her to relax a hair. Instead she nearly made a pass at the knife hidden on her person. That this man would nearly break years of conditioning and training with just a sound. 

“My orders are to kill you, where you stand, right now. But I have decided to give you a choice; join me and those I work for or die here in the back streets of Paris at three in the morning.” He sounded smug and unapologetic. She could appreciate a man who could admit to his intentions to kill her without remorse. That was not something she wanted anyone to look to closely at. 

“I’ll join you,” she answered. Never mind that she still didn’t know who she was joining, only that it keep her alive for at least a few more days. She was close to something, she could feel it. Her Guide perhaps? If she could just see them, make sure at the very least they would be protected than she would deal with whomever she had to. And what did that say about her? That finding her Guide and making sure they were safe was the only thing she had left that was close to moral compass? 

“30 yards up the street there is an alley on the right. Inside the alley will be a man in a black suit and a van. Get in the van.” The line cut off after that. She walked forward, pausing only to toss the phone in a trash can before going to the alley. The man and van were right where she had been told they would be. He told her that under no uncertain terms was she to give him any trouble. If she did, he would put a bullet in her head and drop her body into the river. All before putting her in the strangest looking pair of handcuffs she had ever seen. Unsurprising really, considering they knew she was a Sentinel. She submitted to him before climbing into the van and allowing him to lock her into more restraints once she was seated. Another thirty minutes had them picking up another man. 

“You…” she spoke, the word drawn from her before she could even think of it. Because it was there, this sense of _mine_ and _almost complete._ Instinct had her reaching out to him, testing him. He was another Sentinel but he fit into the aching hole within her. It wasn’t fully stable yet, their Guide (Theirs!?) was still needed. 

“Me. Yep, the one with his finger on the trigger. Sort of.” He smirked, posture lax and completely open. Like he did not care that he was now sitting in the back of a van with one of the worlds most deadly assassins. Maybe he really did not. It was almost such a strange concept to her that she nearly dismissed it on principal. Rather than focus on such confusing thoughts, she focused on memorizing the Sentinel before her. His eyes caught and held hers just as they had when he had climbed into the van. Her fingers twitched with an ache to touch him. He smirked, as if he knew what she was thinking. “Name’s Clint.” 

“Natasha.” The answer came surprisingly easy as she watched him. This should have scared her, should have given her a reason to run as fast as she could. But it felt right; to just sit there with the other Sentinel, with Clint, and talk to him. For as much as she was able to talk. 

“Well Natasha, welcome to SHIELD.” The man driving the van snorted, looking up at them threw the rear view mirror. 

“You don’t get to say that,” he said, voice bland and perfectly controlled. Natasha looked at him, drawing into herself even as she felt the tells of a Guide. Not hers, just a Guide. 

“Don’t worry about him, he’s an echo. Not a full Guide.” Clint smirked at her even as he ignored the man’s words.. He gave an exaggerated yelp when the other man (the agent?) reached behind him to smack Cling upside the head without even veering off course. An Echo, huh? She had heard about them. People who could feel like a Sentinel or Guide, or even both on a rare occasion, but for some reason or another they were not. They were just normal people really, for the most part. 

“The Director is not going to like this.” The Agent didn’t sound put out about this, merely bored. 

“The Director can go fuck himself,” Clint shot back, still smirking at her. Looking for all the world like he really didn’t care. Maybe he didn’t. She had heard that Sentinel’s could say and do weird things when they found their Guide. And she might not have been his Guide, but they were meant to complete that bond. Maybe, just maybe, their Guide could look at her and not feel repulsed by what she was. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Tony Stark first met Natalie Rushman, he couldn’t do anything else but stare at her. A bad first impression to be sure, but he had done worse. (His first meeting with Rhodey came to mind.) Still, for the first time in his life everything just stopped. Numbers froze in the dance that only he could see since he was four. For once in his life, he could focus on one thing and one thing only. And that was actually a person who he was fairly sure was a Sentinel. A Sentinel who ignored him nearly completely and walked right up to Pepper. 

“Lesson one: Never take your eyes off your opponent,” Happy quipped behind him, hitting him on the back of the head. He was going to have to find a way to thank Happy for that. And maybe have JARVIS replay to him what Pepper just said; cause he had actually missed it. Right, three new pairs of Jimmy Choo’s for Pepper and two weeks paid vacation for Happy. At Happy’s pained grunt Tony added another two weeks to that. He had fallen into Iron Man fighting while boxing with Happy again. Happy was never pleased when he did that. 

Tony grabbed his water bottle and turned to the two lady’s in the room. Guzzling down the green gobbledygook he had to drink, he found that she was actually watching him. And not in an outright creepy fangirl way either. He liked that. 

“What’s your name Lady?” He called as he ignored Happy’s grumbling. 

“Rushman. Natalie Rushman.” Oh he liked her already. Anyone straight to the point was good. Anyone who could put up with his sense of humor was better. Now he just had to see if she could follow the latter. Or if she could even follow it. 

“Front and Center. Come into the Church.” He smirked, ignoring Pepper’s exasperated look as he lifted up two of the rings ropes. So maybe he was a little giddy over meeting a Sentinel that actually felt close. Not a full fit, but this Natalie Rushman was the first Sentinel who came even close. Every other Sentinel had been just a bare blip on his radar, as it were. 

“No, you’re seriously not gonna ask her…” Pepper started, looking at Tony with that pleading look she got around him. It was a ‘please, don’t do something stupid’ look that Tony just saw as a challenge. He found it amusing. Pepper just got huffy around him for a week after. 

“If it pleases the court…which it does,” Tony interrupted, gesturing Natalie up to the ring. The two ladies spoke for a moment, Pepper no doubt trying to smooth over any ruffled feathers out of pure habit. Still, Natalie was smiling. It was small and might have been more of an amused smirk but Tony was counting it as a win. Ya, he liked this Sentinel. She even managed to let him forget for a few minutes that he was dying of palladium poisoning. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tony spent the next few days getting to know Natalie and, to his surprise, actually enjoyed doing so. Natalie was kinda like Pepper in a lot of ways. Just less prone to stress induced shock when he blew something up without meaning to. Her sense of humor was a bit more dry than he was use to but he still liked it. And being with her helped in ways that he had not counted on. 

For the most part, he was able to forget he was dying for at least a few hours a day. Until he finished the last combination of elements just hours before his birthday. Even a bonded Sentinel would have had a hard time pulling their Guide up from such a Drop. Tony lacked someone to ground him after such news. 

His resulting Drop started with a desperate question posed to Natalie just before the party and went on to a drunken fight with Rhodey. Now he had a hangover from hell and had to deal with Nick fucking Fury. But he wasn’t done dropping apparently, because there was Natalie walking up to them and spouting something about holding the perimeter. And if that wasn’t a punch to the stomach. 

Tony felt sick in a way that he never thought he would ever feel. The first Sentinel who ever felt even close to right and she had come to spy on him. Spied on him for SHIELD; probably to see what they could get from him. Of course his Sentinel would be one of the twisted ones. No wonder she did not fit correctly. 

“Huh! You’re…fired.” Tony actually choked back the word he really wanted to say. Instead he mentally backed off completely. Crossed her off the metal short list of possibilities. This whole thing was beyond anything he was mentally equipped to handle. 

“That’s not up to you,” She answered, sliding into the booth next to Nick. Right acrossed from Tony. Like she had some fucking right even be there. 

“Tony, I want you to meet Agent Romanoff.” Nick started talking again, actually putting an arm around Natalie like he owned her or something. (Was that even her name? No, he better just think of her as Romanoff from now on.) 

“Hi.” His voice came out even thankfully. If only a little too sharp and a little too quiet. It was better than his voice actually breaking in front of the two people he would never trust. Ever. One wanted to use him for tech and the other wanted to fuck with his head. 

“I’m a SHIELD shadow. Once we knew you were ill, I was tasked to you by Director Fury.” He was a bit surprised she was forthcoming with this information. Apparently so was Fury if Tony was to give the look the other man was giving her any credit at all. But then Fury was the super spy; who knew if this was game to play Tony or not.

“I suggest you apologize,” Tony uttered before he could even finish processing her words. SHIELD shadow. What the hell was that suppose to mean? Was he on some short listed hit list?

“You've been very busy. You made your girl your CEO, you're giving away all your stuff. You let your friend fly away with your suit. Now, if I know better…” Dear old Nick was looking at him again and touching very VERY dangerous territory. Ya, no that was not something he going to explain.  
.  
“You don't know better. I didn't give it to him. He took it.” It was a weak interruption. Even Tony knew that. But he was a master at deflecting and redirecting the conversation to going where he wanted it. Current super spy company be damned. He had been doing it since he was seven and stuck in that horror they called a Guide school in Europe. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. He took it? You're Iron Man and he just took it? The little brother walked in there, kicked your ass and took your suit? Is that possible?” Tony almost smirked when Nick took the bait, glaring as best he could with a handover instead. He had to keep them here, on safer topics. 

“Well, according to Mr. Stark's database security guidelines, there are redundancies to prevent unauthorized usage.” Shit. Okay, perhaps this topic was not as safe as he had thought. Because after Obadiah, Tony kept everyone out of his database. But Romanoff had come down one night when he couldn’t sleep with coffee and an offer to just listen. So Tony answered her attempt at trying to make a connection (or what he thought had been an attempt at a connection) with a rare show of trust. He had shown her the database. 

“What do you want from me?” He snapped out the question with just the right about of annoyance to keep Nick from guessing anything. Romanoff might eventually come to understand the significance, but Tony was already planning back up plans for that. Starting with her Sentinel status. 

“What do we want from you? Uh-uh. What do you want from me? You have become a problem, a problem I have to deal with. Contrary to your belief, you are not the center of my universe. I have bigger problems in the southwest region to deal with. Hit him!” There was a sudden sharp stinging in Tony’s neck and he jerked away from it. He glared at Romanoff, feeling just a bit terrified that she had managed to get up from the table without Tony noticing. She was like a brick wall to his Guide senses suddenly. Just not there. 

“Oh God, are you gonna steal my kidney and sell it? Could you please not do anything awful for five seconds? What did she just do to me?” He groaned and started demanding even as whatever the hell she had just injected him with started taking away the pain that wasn’t from the hangover. His neck was kind of itching but no longer felt like it was burning as it had been. Alright than, maybe he should listen a little better to what they were telling him. Because he could actually feel the palladium in his bloodstream creeping back down his neck. And fuck did that feel so much better. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Natasha stared at the after report in her hands. Something had started to eat at her near the end of her assignment to Tony and Stark Industries. (And when had the man become Tony instead of Stark?) She had missed something in her assessment. Something vital. Meeting the man had been everything she had been warned about. 

Tony was narcissistic and a bit childish in his rather horrible humor. The ego part of it was more of a mask for board members but there was no denying the man was more than a bit vain. He was a large product of his era, his upbringing and his genius. Still, even she could see that Afghanistan was a large turning point for him. He was trying; which was more than most people did when confronted with all the wrong they had done. 

None of that change that she had missed something. Something so vital and important that now stared back at her in black and white text that it shocked her. Tony Stark was a Guide. Not an Echo like she had operated under the impression of. A full on Guide who had weakly resonated with her. 

The connection was weak because he had spent several years in a “Guide Finishing” school in Europe. A school that had been spearheading several teachings that later lead to Guide deaths. Because they shut off a part of themselves before a Sentinel could reteach them it was okay to be a Guide. And Tony had been in the lead school for such things. 

Natasha rarely wanted to kill people out of any sort of emotion; but right then, she really wished she could turn back time just to strangle Howard Stark. Because there was no way that any Guide would be very trusting to anyone after going to such schools. And Tony didn’t trust people on principal. But he had tried to trust her. 

Now that she could look back on his actions over the, admittedly short, few days she had spent as both his assistant and Pepper’s, she could see all the places where she had gone wrong. The times he rewarded her calculated gestures to get information from him with real shows of trust nearly burned at her. They had been small and littered with comments borderlined on insulting but there all the same. From a man of Tony’s background, she was surprised he had made the attempts at all. The biggest hint should have been when he showed her the database. 

But she had tallied it up to her abilities to get the information SHIELD needed. Taken getting the information without having to figure out how to get around Tony’s AI for granted. Now she was left with a possible Guide who had to have been feeling betrayed and burned. With no one to blame but herself. 

She stayed sitting at the small kitchen island with the report in hand until Clint came home. The archer dropped his go bag in the hall closet louder than necessary and kicked off his boots the same way. It was a rather strange habit she found oddly endearing most of the time. Right then, it just irritated her. 

“How did you ever become a spy.” The words came easily in spite of her inner turmoil. Clint just chuckled on his way to the fridge. He paused on the other side of the island when he looked at her. 

“What happened? Did Stark try to get you into bed a few too many times?” He was joking, she knew that. The words still stung and made a part of her ache. 

“No.” The word was sharp and knife like as she glared at him. Clint boldly (or stupidly she was not sure which it was at the moment) reached a hand over the counter and gripped her wrist loosely. He stepped a little closer without crowding her. His thumb rubbed lightly at the side of her wrist, the only point of contact between them at the moment. 

“Nat?” He whispered, giving her the option of telling him or changing the subject. That was one thing she liked best about him. He could wait until the end of time if she needed it. Words were lacking to describe the fuck up she had done, so she just passed him the report. She was honest in it, almost brutally so. Had even outlined how she had used the suspected information of Tony being an Echo who could resonate with her to get what she wanted. Coulson’s added information was just as brutally honest. And just as damning. 

“Christ.” Clint huffed out a breath when he finished reading, looking up at Natasha. He looked nearly as stricken as she felt. She waited for the heated words, but they never came. Clint rarely surprised her anymore. She was rather happy to count this as one of those surprising times when he spoke. 

“Right, so we can fix this. Kinda. It just might take awhile.” She snorted at him; unable to help herself. 

“He’s not going to trust me, Clint. Ever. I should have found a more gentle way of informing him of my cover,” She said. 

“Ya, no. Sorry Nat but Stark's not the kind to ever take that in a good way. Even if you were gentle with him. So it will be a bit hard to rebuild that broken bridge, just not impossible.” Clint grinned at her, hand around her wrist again. He tugged on it gently, drawing it up when she didn’t resist him. 

“Clint, it’s burnt not broken. You didn’t see his reaction. I should have seen it.” Her fingers folded together with his, holding his hand just a little to hard. As grateful as she was to his optimism at times, this was not time for it.

“Hey, if my need to keep up on Latin soap operas for three different covers has taught me anything it’s that miscommunications and pride are two of the biggest no no’s when fixing what is called a royal screw up. And you, dear Nat, are never one to run from fixing something you messed up on.” He pulled her hand closer, kissing their entwined fingers, “we can do this.” 

She sighed but in the end offered him a ghost of a smile. They had to try at least. Besides, Tony had never looked at her in horror even after he found out. Oh there was no doubt that he was scared of her abilities. Just not where or how she had acquired them. Perhaps a little hope was permitted for this after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for some of you it's actually Wednesday not Tuesday. Sorry, but it's Tuesday for me!! I live in UTC - 8 so ya XD sorry. Still Weekly updates every Tuesday here!!
> 
> Edit: So I have decided to include parts that I skipped when I really shouldn't have. Chapter three will also be getting a few parts added.

When Steve Rogers woke after what felt like an eternity and an age, he very nearly passed back out again. Everything was just too much. To many new sounds echoed in the tiny room; assaulting his ears until they rang from it. The clothes and materials that touched his skin burned. Even the light scent in the air sent his mind reeling in confusion and agony. His head throbbed from the over stimulation. 

It took everything he had to get up off his back, legs swung over the edge. Light stabbed at his eyes as he looked desperately around the room. Everything was off, wrong in some fundamental way. He took a breath, forcing himself to focus and filter out the unimportant things. 

His head jerked to the radio sitting innocently on a table a few feet away. A ball game was playing but it was wrong. He had been there; on a rare day when he and Bucky made ends meet enough to scrape together funds for a couple tickets. It was just shortly before Bucky enlisted. That was wrong. Why play a recording of a game? 

The window caught his attention next. Outside there was something off about the buildings. Too little color and too much light. And the wind was all wrong for his assumed height in a building. Much to weak. It was also lacking the normal street noise he had grown up with. He struggled to keep calm, trying to think properly. 

He remembered the plane, the fight with Schmidt and those final words with Peggy. A promised dance that he probably already missed. None of that explained how he got where he currently was. Trusting anything at the moment seemed an exercise in folly. 

He was breathing much too heavily when the door opens. The lovely looking red headed dame who walked in felt just as wrong. Her hair was just a little too long; her jacket was missing. No career girl would ever be without her full uniform. When he looked her in the eye, about to demand where he is, they both froze. 

The aching and broken hole within him burned as it shifted and revealed that Bucky was not the only Sentinel he was suppose to bond with. His breath rattled from his chest in an almost sob as the connection between them hovered. The connection would never be fully completed without a Guide to slot the pieces into place. At best he’d know how she was physically for about 500 yards around himself. Anything past that would simply be a blankness to him. 

“Captain.” Her voice was steady as she spoke but her eyes told a different story. She was just as surprised by this as he was. Three-pair bonds are rare. Four-pair were reserved for myths and legends. And this one would never fully be complete.

“Where…where am I?” He forces out, unwilling to touch on what had just happened. Not yet, maybe not ever really. It hurt to much. Knowing that it would never be complete because Bucky was dead. He’s not sure if he could do that to any Guide. 

“In a recovery room in New York.” The response came readily enough but it’s not wholly the truth. Which part was the key though. He’d make a bet the scales would weigh in on the room more than New York. 

“Now the truth.” He outright demanded it, sitting up straighter on the bed. She breathed out slowly, watching him very closely before stepping towards the table. A thin black stick of some kind was placed on it and she turned off the radio. 

“It’s going to be a shock.” She spoke the warning carefully, glaring disdainfully at her skirt for a moment. When she looked back at him, the glare was gone. It wasn’t quiet replaced with concern but it was a close thing. “You are in New York and this is your recovery room. But it’s actually 2011. An oil team found the plane buried in a shelf of ice they were testing. A recovery crew went in and found you, frozen but still alive. They spent nearly 17 hours slowly thawing you out. Took you another 16 to wake up.” 

Steve found himself glad he was already sitting. This whole thing was impossible. But so was turning a scrawny five foot tall kid into a six foot one super soldier. He dropped his head into his hand, rubbing at his temples in an effort to think straight. The bed dipped a little as the other Sentinel sat next to him; keeping just enough personal space to not crowd him. 

“Your name… what is it?” he murmured, using that to focus. It was all just so much to absorb. Everything was gone. Just gone. 

“Romanoff. Natasha Romanoff. And yes, it’s Russian.” Steve snorted, looking up at her. 

“And you say I’m on US soil?” She smiled a little ruefully. 

“You are. Though the SSR is known as SHIELD now. My history is…complicated,” She admitted. “The world has changed Captain. It will take time to get use to. First though, lets get you into some better clothes. Ones made for Sentinels. They are a lot more comfortable on the skin.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Natasha almost wished she could get in contact with Clint. The new angle that Steve brought to all of this was frankly terrifying to her. Another Sentinel in the mix? With one more having died in the 1940’s? This was quickly becoming a mess and she needed Clint’s level head in this. Actually, she needed someone else, but Tony currently refused to even open an email from her. So she would make do. Making do, however, meant that she had to push it aside for now and deal with getting Banner on board to helping find the missing Tesseract. And planning all the ways she wanted to gut this Loki character. 

“Should have got paid up front Banner.” The man before her was not quite what she was expecting. He wore clothes that stuck out horribly in Calcutta. A button up shirt with a jacket over it and slightly worn pants that spoke of North America more than India. But really, Banner knew how to properly blend in. A man with his features would blend better in those clothes than traditional clothes. 

“You know, for a man who is suppose to be avoiding stress, you pick a hell of a place to settle.” She smiled, stepping out from behind a curtain in the main room of the house. The smile dropped when they looked each other in the eyes. It was a struggle to breath for her. Only training and conditioning kept her outward calm. Another one? Another Sentinel to this jumbled mix. Bruce felt all kinds of wrong against her Sentinel senses, though. Maybe that was just because of the Hulk. 

“Avoiding stress isn’t the secret.” He finally uttered, looking away from her. He checked the windows, half to see if anyone else was there and half to keep from looking at her. They were both uncomfortable with this. Would have to tread very carefully. 

“Than what is it? Yoga?” Natasha asked, struggling for anything to say really. This was so far out of her depth that she could barely keep her head above water. Deal with Loki first, then whatever this was. 

“You brought me to the edge of the city. Smart. I, uh, assume the whole place is surrounded?” When he finally looked at her, his eyes stayed firmly on her clothes. He avoided her face as much as he could. The poor man even hunched in on himself, like she was more dangerous than he was. 

“Just you and me.” The lie sat on her tongue, burning her. A full bond would have made such a lie impossible. A half bond just made her feel sick from it. 

“ And your actress buddy? Is she a spy too? They start that young?” He chanced a look at her eyes for a brief moment. The partial bond shifted and shimmered between them and he looked away quickly. 

“I did.” Her voice was surprisingly steady. She knows now why it feels wrong. It’s like looking at a Sentinel/Guide child who is still half asleep. Or someone who was forced to awaken to early. 

“Who are you?” He asked, wringing his hands a little. This meeting was making him nervous. 

“Natasha Romanoff.” A second truth does little to wash away the bitter taste of lying to a bonded. Even a partially bonded. 

“Are you here to kill me, Miss. Romanoff? Because that’s not going to work out for everyone.” As if killing him was even close to an option now. And the way he just seemed to expect it. That brought out something fierce in her, something that promised pain to Ross if she ever saw him. 

“No, no. Of course not. I’m here on behalf of SHIELD.” The words were a promise even as she spoke them. No one would be trying to kill this man so long as she could help it. 

“SHIELD,” He grunted out, looking at her again. “How…how did they find me?” 

“We never lost you Doctor. We’ve kept our distance. Even helped keep some other interested parties off your scent. “ Part of her was glad for that now. He still scared her, felt wrong but she was starting to believe that this man did not want to cause trouble. And given the new knowledge that he was a Sentinel, more of the Hulk’s actions made just a little more sense.

“Why?” The question is almost whispered. Banner sounded far too fragile. The word twisted between them, sharp and deadly if handled incorrectly.

“Nick Fury seems to trust you. But now we need you to come in.” Her smile returned. Because really, that’s why she was there. She was after the man, not the Hulk. 

“What if I say no?” He looked at her, a little more relaxed now. It’s been several minutes after all. And no one has come bounding into the house with guns and shouting. Keeping this just between them in those four walls was a very smart move on her part. 

“I’ll persuade you.” She nearly purred the response, pulling back on the more sexual tone she usually used with that phrase. That was not going to help at the moment.

“And what if the Other Guy says no?” He hesitated even as he asked that question. She could see why. Everyone else who had met the Hulk reacted with fear and overwhelming physical force. 

“You’ve been more than a year without an incident. I don’t think you want to break that streak. “ She edged her way around that, sidestepping that mess easily. Because she really didn’t want to face the Hulk. 

“Well, I don’t every time get what I want.” He turned away from her a little bit, playing with a baby’s rocker. She gave him the moment, let him center himself as she reached for a phone on the near by table. 

“Doctor, we’re facing a potential global catastrophe.” She came clean, certain that she had his attention now. Bringing up the photo she needed was easy. Her words get a chuckle from him as he looks at her again. 

“Well those I actively try to avoid.” Taking a seat at the small table used mostly for meals in this small near one room house, she slid the phone over to him. She found she rather liked the humor. Appropriate humor in the face of surmounting odds was actually a good thing. 

“This is the Tesseract. It has the potential energy to wipe out the planet.” He took the phone, looking carefully at the photo. 

“What does Fury want me to do, swallow it?” His voice was harsh as he passed back the phone. Probably thinking that doing so might kill him. Not a thought she wanted him to be even close to entertaining at the moment. 

“He wants you to find it. It’s been taken. It emits a gamma signature that’s too weak for us to trace. There’s no one that knows gamma radiation like you do. If there was, that’s where I’d be.” The full truth for once. Not a single bent corner or diversion. It was surprisingly liberating for her to speak such truths. 

“So Fury isn’t after the monster?” He looked at her fully, watching her reaction. It was still difficult to look him right in the eye. More difficult than she liked. 

“Not that he’s told me.” The pause is noticeable, nearly fatal between them. The words were true. But Natasha isn’t fully sure if Fury really doesn’t want the monster, as Banner puts it. The Director was not inclined to tell her everything after all. 

“And he tells you everything?” Banner’s tone told her everything. How he believed the same as her. Expected it even. She couldn't just come out and say it though. 

“Talk to Fury. He needs you on this.” The words were a pitiful plaintive and she nearly regrets them instantly. 

“He needs me in a cage?” 

“No one’s going to put you in a …” Natasha started, trying to head off where this might be going. 

“Stop lying to me!!” Banner doesn't shout. His voice was low and it carried. Suddenly she was facing a threatened Sentinel. One who would do what he must to protect what he called his. Even if it is a small house he has never been in before. Instinct flared and she pulled the gun taped to the underside of the table out. She was on her feet in one swift movement, gun trained on him. 

Her Sentinel instincts told her she is in the wrong in this. That this was his place to protect and she must back off. But she wavered, unsure how the Hulk will take her backing down. If he would take her backing down at all. Banner lifted his hands off the table slowly. 

“I’m sorry. That was mean. I just wanted to see what you’d do. Why don’t we do this the easy way where you don’t use that and the Other Guy doesn’t make a mess. Okay? Natasha?” He spoke softly, the threat in his voice gone. Her hands were still shaking as she watched him. A part of her comes to hate him. He reminds her to much of another Sentinel. One who took joy in pulling such stunts; all to check who might be a Sentinel in the Red Room. 

“Stand down. We’re good here.” She spoke into the com line. Outside the clicks of guns and modified weaponry sound as the rest back off the building. 

“‘Just you and me’.” Natasha wasn’t even sorry about that lie anymore. No Sentinel should pull such tactics so easily. Years with Phil and Clint have taught her that much. It makes her wonder, though, if the Sentinel before her has started a descent into madness. That does not bode well for rest of them. Still, four Sentinels to one Guide? With added broken bond with Steve? Natasha was starting to doubt that Tony was their Guide. What Guide can put up with that many Sentinels? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Steve felt like he was drowning. There was just too much to learn, too much that needed to be done. There were a few constants. The Sentinel/Guide percentage of the world population was still at ten percent. Many of them were much more open with their status though. The once required registration was now outlawed too. Steve was rather glad about that. To many people had been taken from their homes in the middle of the night because of that thing. 

He, after an extensive day with Natasha learning the basics, used the internet to catch up on history. And other topics. Topics that SHIELD had files on, but the physiologists had hacked them down to the bare basics. Trying to not overload him with unreasonable information. But he knew however uncomfortable something made him, he still needed to know about it. Especially if it was a hot button topic for many. 

He learned subjects that might have made him pink with embarrassment but they were on the news. He didn’t watch the TV so much as listened to it as he searched for further background on the issues they talked about. So he spent days reading and listening. Finding out how the war ended and others started. Some aimed at drugs and others at foreign oil. He spent a full day unable to think after discovering about September 11th. Even if Natasha had been there with him, Steve wasn’t sure if the presence of the other Sentinel would have helped him any. 

Natasha was away, though. Fury had pulled her to gather some kind of vital information. That was all he told Steve. The Director had offered the services of a SHIELD approved Guide if Steve needed them. Steve declined. Having a Guide that was not his own rooting around in his mind to try and help him stabilize had never appealed to him. Fury had left him alone after that. 

At least until Fury turned up at the gym Steve used, showing him information on the one thing Steve hated more than anything. The Tesseract. The very thing he went under to keep from getting into anyone's hands. And it had been stolen by someone called Loki. Along with a few of SHIELD’s own. One of whom was Clint Barton. Natasha had spoken briefly about him, as she did everything when she spoke of it. All the same, it was clear the other Sentinel was dear to her. So he agreed to go after them, going back to his apartment to pick up what he needed. 

Two hours later had him arriving at an airstrip to catch a ride to wherever Fury wanted him. There was another man there, SHIELD badge clipped to his navy blue suit jacket. Steve mostly ignored him, looking carefully through the SHIELD tablet that had been left for him in his apartment. 

He was careful with it as they load him onto the Quinjet. He made it through Thor’s and Barton’s file with little trouble. Erik Selvig’s file was thin, comparatively and filled with things that were way above his head at the moment. Eventually he got to Banner’s file, reading it very carefully. No one spoke to him or even looked at him until their nearly 30 minutes out from what they call home base. And even then, it was only the other man they had picked up who interacts with him. 

“So, this Doctor Banner was trying to replicate the serum that was used on me?” Steve asked, looking up at Agent Coulson when the other man came toward him. It was the first time he had ever met an Echo. Still, Natasha had made the effort to mention it was safe to trust him. Even if he got a little (what had she called it again? Oh right) fanboyish over who he was. She had pointed out it was more like the little boy “omg you are so cool” instead of the crazy stalker type of fanboying. 

“A lot of people were. You were the world's first superhero. Banner thought gamma radiation might hold the key to unlocking Erskine's original formula.” The Hulk’s roar on the tablet drew Steve’s attention back to it. He watched the footage carefully. This General Ross was making a mess of things as far as Steve could tell. Trapping Banner on a college campus to engage the Hulk was a fool move. 

“Didn't really go his way, did it?” He flicked to a different angle, frowning at weapons that were unleashed on the Hulk. He can see the civilians that haven’t gotten out of the way yet. 

“Not so much. When he's not that thing though, guy's like a Stephen Hawking.” Steve looked up at Coulson, confused. He had made some headway in all the information that he had missed, but that one he apparently missed. It made him feel off center, being reminded that he was so far behind. 

“He's like a smart person. I gotta say, it's an honor to meet you, officially. I sort of met you, I mean, I watched you while you were sleeping. I mean, I was... I was present while you were unconscious from the ice. You know, it's really, it's just a... just a huge honor to have you on board.” And there was the fan boy. Even after his stunt with the USO, such comments made him uneasy. Everyone had such expectations for him. For who he was. It drove him nuts really. 

He stood from his seat, trying to keep those thoughts to himself. It would be rude to say them. Coulson was just trying to be respectful after all. Steve had seen how most people acted around those who were famous in this day and age. Hell the man was at least polite. 

“Well, I hope I'm the man for the job.” Steve kinda doubted he was. What good was a Broken Sentinel anyway? Any Guide he bonded to would always feel the emptiness of Bucky and Steve just wasn’t sure he could do that to anyone. 

“Oh, you are. Absolutely. Uh... we've made some modifications to the uniform. I had a little design input.” Agent Coulson seemed to disagree though. There was no hiding the honest hope in the mans face. It made Steve feel like a fraud. He was just a kid from 1945 Brooklyn. 

“The uniform? Aren't the stars and stripes a little... old-fashioned?” Steve spat out, almost disgusted with the words. The world was so different now. More harsh. Almost colder even. It was a world that didn’t need superheroes anymore. Steve wasn’t even sure if it had normal hero's left. 

“With everything that's happening, the things that are about to come to light, people might just need a little old-fashioned. “ Coulson looked at him, truly believing his words. Steve still doubted, but these people were asking for his help. And really, did it matter how he was dressed when he got it done? If all else failed, he was a Sentinel. He would protect the tribe. Even if his was long since gone.

~~~~~~~~~

Bruce Banner was very uncomfortable being surrounded as he was by highly trained individuals. Being on a ship made things worse. The Other Guy disliked large bodies of water for various reasons, the key reason being his inability to swim with any form of efficiency. It wasn't as if teaching him was even an option. Too many people were terrified of the Other Guy and he just got too frustrated to learn, really.

Bruce was starting to entertain the idea that the Other Guy was separate from him. He had been thinking about it when he felt the double reaction to Natasha. Natasha was the first Sentinel to not set off the Other Guy into a territorial rage. The first Sentinel that he liked, even, and Bruce wasn't sure just what to do with that. 

“Doctor Banner.”

He turned away from what he believed was an F-22 (He's not really sure if he has that right) to face the two Sentinels coming towards him. He knew Natasha. He ignored the now familiar double recognition she triggered and looked closer at the man with her. There it was again. It was the same as with Natasha. A strange double recognition that left him tense while the Other Guy was just confused. What on Earth was going on? 

“Hi... Yeah... Yeah, they told me you were coming.” The back of Bruce's hand itched when he didn't take Steve's hand in greeting. An old lesson long learned that was now being ignored. The Other Guy was not pleased with either reaction; angry at the remembered pain and also with the strange double recognition that kept popping up. It made both of them edgy.

“Word is you can find the cube.” Steve dropped his outstretched hand after a few seconds and Bruce tried to think of anything besides his bad manners. He managed to keep from touching Natasha. It was something he planned to do with Steve as well. Touching them would make this whole thing worse. The Other Guy shifted, watching the two closely and making Bruce nervous.

“Is... is that the only word on me?” he asked, arms wrapped defensively around himself. This was their place to defend, not his. He was the intruder here. It made him itch to run. To get as far away from them as possible. A quick glance at Natasha only confirmed his thinking on that. She was just as uncomfortable with all of this as he was. Even the Other Guy wanted to get far from them as soon as possible.

“Only one I care about.” Steve's voice was even as he spoke. Bruce almost believed him. It would have been more believable if Steve wasn't keeping himself between Bruce and the normal men and women running drills around the top deck. The Other Guy shifted under Bruce's skin, trying to back off even as he grew increasingly annoyed. Bruce hunched just a little into himself, eyes darting around the area carefully. He hated being lied to, even if it was a small lie. The world feared him because he could turn into a monster. To have fellow Sentinels fear what he might do and lie to him only cut deeper.

“Must be strange for you, all this.” He was floundering for something to say. For some way to break the building tension. As much as it hurt to be lied to from a possible connection, he had long since made peace with never forming a real bond.

“Well, this is actually kind of familiar.” Steve glanced at the passing soldiers, nodding to them in polite greeting. Bruce watched as the group gave a sharp salute that made Steve shift uncomfortably. So, tales of the man's modesty had not been exaggerated. That was an interesting tidbit.

“Gentlemen, you may wanna step inside in a minute. It's gonna get a little hard to breathe.” Natasha stepped minutely closer to them, looking at Steve instead of Bruce. That was fine, though. After Bruce's actions in Calcutta, he was sure she wanted as little to do with him as possible.

A siren blared as the rest of the people on deck started strapping things down. Jet canopies were locked down tight and heavy duty bindings locked the planes in place. Once the items were locked down, the mass of people headed for the closest door into the ship.

“Is this a submarine?” Steve's tone was one of wonder as he started walking towards the edge. Bruce followed him, drawn to see what was churning up the water so rapidly. His heart was heavy in his chest. The thought of being on a submarine alone made the Other Guy antsy. Being in the water was bad enough; being under it was a thousand times worse.

“Really. They want me in a submerged pressurized metal container?” The question was spoken as evenly and casually as Bruce was able to do. He came to a stop mere feet from the edge. Water was swirling around the sides of the ship, slowly revealing a large turbine. A turbine that was face up; practically useless for any motion under water. Bruce's throat nearly swelled shut in a sudden spike of fear. 

“Oh, no... This is much worse.” Bruce's words were breathless as he spoke them. Sure, the Other Guy could jump amazingly far and land without a mark on him. But this? This was so much worse. He had no control over this. No way to know where or how he would land. The Other Guy would walk away from it. Nothing could kill him, after all. Still, Bruce stumbled back from the edge, suddenly regretting agreeing to show up.  
Meeting Doctor Banner had been strange. The weak double recognition had left Steve a little off-center. Off-center enough that he hadn't even noticed that Banner had ignored his proffered handshake. No pang of sorrow at the loss of good manners, just confusion. Banner's presence reminded Steve of Natasha but it was much weaker. It was puzzling, something Steve focused mostly on while waiting for the next order. The possibility that Bruce could be a more, for lack of a better word, platonic bond option was reassuring. Steve might just talk with him about it, after all of this. Might.   
Meeting Tony Stark had been another issue altogether. Fighting a losing battle with Loki only ended when blaring noise cut into the night air. It confused both of them. Steve took a wild glance around the plaza to find the source. Above him, the night sky was streaked with two trails of something's after burners. Steve could barely hear the Iron Man's repulsors over the sound of someone screaming out words. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Stark's appearance had ended the fight quickly, with double blasts that hit Loki in the chest and sent him flying into the plaza stairs. Natasha landed the Quinjet and approached them to slap a pair of cuffs onto Loki. Between the three of them, Loki was easily loaded onto the jet. After locking their new prisoner in a seat, Steve tried not to think about easy it had suddenly become. He was still reeling from all of this, feeling like a sinking ship that no one could save. Still, the ease of Loki's apprehension was not something he could ignore for long. It should have shamed him that he tried to ignore it at all. 

“I don't like it.” Steve's words were low, even as he practically spoke over his shoulder to Stark. It was rude and his mother would have pinned his ears back for doing it, but everything about Stark made Steve feel defensive. There was something wrong, something almost poisoned and twisted about the Guide. Natasha had spoken of him, but nothing like this. 

“What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?”

Steve shifted at the sharp words, glancing over at Loki to keep from looking at Stark. It hurt to feel a Guide so broken and twisted. It reminded him too much of the compounds during the war. The poor souls he'd found there, unable to even form a weak bond with anyone without causing both parties immense pain.

“I don't remember it being that easy," he said. "This guy packs a wallop.”

The smirk that grew from his words made him twitch. His speech was dated and didn't that hurt? To know that his words marked him as an outsider just as much as his clothes did.

“Still, you were pretty spry for an older fellow. What's your thing? Pilates?”

“What?”

Stark's words were still sharp, still felt like knives between them. Steve hated it. He may have lacked the knowledge to understand what Stark was saying, but he knew when he was being insulted. He looked at Stark directly now and tried not to grind his teeth together so hard they nearly cracked. Looking at Stark made him ache for Bucky, long for the one person who helped the world make sense in Steve's darkest hours. 

He nearly tuned out Stark's next words, tossing out a few of his own about Fury failing to tell him he was calling Stark in. It was a petty thing to do, acting like he believed Fury would actually tell him that. Like Steve had an in that Stark didn't. He tried not to flinch when Stark all but threw his words in his face. Embarrassment burned at him when he started to reply. He shoved it down.

“Where's this coming from?” The jet shuddered as thunder started booming around them. Natasha was doing something with the instruments when Steve leaned over to get a better look out the window. Great. Another thing was about to be thrown at them. Steve squared his shoulders instinctively, looking at Stark and Loki when the Guide took a jab at their captive. Yet another fight in what seemed like a long string of fights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I feed on your comments and Kudos!!! So please, tell me what you think and let me in on your speculations!!! 
> 
> Next up: Thor and Clint!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm soooo sorry it's late -throws myself at the mercy of my readers- x.x Getting into Thor's head space was a bit more difficult then I had anticipated.

Thor thought nothing of it when he met the Man of Iron and the good Captain. In fact he had ignored them at first, more focused on his brother. When the back door of the Midgardian aerial machine opened he went for it. Batting aside the man in the strange metal armor with Mjölnir barely even registered as he went for his brother. The restraints holding Loki were pitiful, telling Thor all he needed to know. Loki was there because he wanted to be. 

It took little force to pull Loki from his seat. Thor used a bit more force than he really needed to, but he always did when he was in a rush. He needed to get Loki away from them. Both for his brothers sake and for the humans. They had no idea what they were facing. Or even what Loki was capable of. It chilled Thor to the bone knowing that his brother was willingly going with them. If he really wanted to be somewhere else, Loki would have had no problem getting away. So Thor took them both as far from the aerial machine as he dared before dropping his brother on a rock ledge. 

They spoke there, on that mountain. As much as they had ever been able to speak to each other at least. Thor very nearly lost it at Loki’s jab at being a failed Protector. (This was not a new comment, but it hurt all the same.) Being only half of a Bonded Pair for most of his life had stung. No, it had more than stung. It had hurt. Asgard had four full Bonded Pairs that were celebrated and praised. 

While whispers followed Thor when people believed he could not hear them. Whispers of how disappointing it was, that the crowned prince was only half of a Pair. Was an UnBonded. There was no shame in being UnBonded, only sorrow. And he was the only one without a Bonded. That aching hole within him had nearly shattered him a time or two. Thor had grown careless in part because of it. Yet another lesson he had learned during his banishment. 

The argument that rapidly deteriorated between both brothers was abruptly cut short by one of Loki’s guards slamming into Thor. The sudden interruption was surprising. He struggled against the Man of Iron’s hold, barely noticing when they slammed into trees and rocks. It was harder to ignore slamming into the ground. That actually hurt a bit if Thor was going to be honest. 

He rolled to his feet, hand finding Mjolnir’s handle easily. A quick search told him that Loki was still on the rock ledge. A fact that worried and infuriated him as he turned to the Man of Iron. The sense of something off came to him quickly. The man before him felt like Lady Darcy had. That made him one of Midgard's many Bonded Pairs. But this one felt almost broken and it alarmed Thor. 

“Do not touch me again,” He spoke quickly, mind reeling. To see a Midgardian survive without their Bonded seemed wrong. 

“Then don't take my stuff.” The callous words nearly set Thor off. For this man had no true claim to his brother, despite the wrongs that Loki had done to this world and many others. 

“You have no idea what you are dealing with.” Thor looked up to his brother quickly. He was nervous about leaving his brother there for so long. Yet Loki was sitting there, watching them. It was that more than anything that warned Thor all was not as it seemed. Loki was making no attempt to flee while Thor and the other UnBonded argued. 

His worry over what Loki could be planning led to the fight that soon followed. For in that time, all Thor could focus on was how this man was standing in his way. He needed to get the UnBonded before him out of his way. Had to get Loki away from them before his brother launched whatever scheme he had planned. Before Loki killed anymore innocent people. (He was no fool. He knew what his brother was capable of.) It was only the appearance of the good Captain that stopped their fight. After Thor managed to make a fool of himself. 

(Still he wondered how the UnBonded Man of Iron knew that being ordered to put down Mjolnir would only anger Thor further.) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The smaller aerial machine eventually took them all to a much larger one. Thor did his best to keep from showing his awe. The mortal’s of this realm were fascinating with their sciences that could one day come to rival the splendor that was Asgard. If given enough time. 

Loki was given to a group of guards that wear something similar to the place guards. He was unsure where they are leading his brother. Told only that he was needed to gather with the rest. It raked at him, being kept from his brother. Even if his crimes against Midgard warranted it. 

The rest turned out to be a strange group of people. The Captain was there; along with a man who did not look to be a fighter. The Lady who sat at the table gave her name only after the Son of Coul prompted her to. Listening to Fury as the man spoke with Loki revealed little to Thor even as he pondered over his brothers words. There was something he was missing, something big. 

All thought (and comments in defence of his brother) ended when the Man of Iron returned. He was talkative, ending one conversation after starting another. The information he practically shouted across the room to the Dr. Banner (He wondered if Banner is a Doctor in the same sense that Lady Jane was) must be important though. No one reprimands him on it. 

Thor is not sure why the Man of Iron, this Tony Stark, does it. It could have been an attempt at broavto or even something of ‘you’re forgiven’ gesture. All he does know is that after telling Tony not to touch him, and a quickly escalating one-sided fight, he touches him. Slapped the back of his hand against Thor’s bicep like it was nothing. Only Tony never really meets Thor’s eyes. But the touch was all it takes. 

It was like chains falling off him. He felt lighter, grounded with just that touch. Because there was his Bonded. And he had been on Midgard this whole time. Touch is very important on Asgard. It happened in the meadhalls and training halls nearly everyday. It is how a Bonded Pair found each other. And it is how Thor knew then that would have to be careful with Tony. 

Someone had harmed his Bonded. Had tried to Burn him. Make him unable to Bond properly. And that was completely unacceptable to Thor. Lady Darcy had warned him of the rough treatment some Bonded were subjected to. Treatment that sometimes ended in death. Thunder very nearly crashed in the sky despite the lack of clouds. 

Listening to his Bonded helped though. There was no doubt to Thor that Tony was brilliant. The man had become an expert in something over night apparently. Watching the quick wit Tony spoke with as he and Banner started talking was soothing. Granted Thor did not understand all of it, but with time it was possible he would. 

He ached to follow the two when they left. Wanted, no needed, to learn more about his Bonded. But Loki was plotting ways to harm him. If Thor showed anything about finding his Bonded, Loki would use that to harm them both. Thor would not allow that. Could not allow that. Not after failing to find Tony sooner. So he would wait, for now. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everything hurt. But Clint was used to that really. Too use to it if certain parties were asked. It was the blue haze covering everything that was new. How long it had been there escaped him and that was bad. Very bad. Clint hated losing time. It always felt like he had lost control when he lost time. 

But that was the thing, wasn’t it? Losing time would have been better. But he remember everything. From facing Loki down with a pistol to giving away secrets he had spent years earning. Fuck, Natasha was going to kill him. Maybe. It was also possible she was going to toss him around like a yo-yo for a few hours a day for the next few years. And then kill him. 

Coming to and finding himself strapped down set his teeth on edge. Still seeing the world through a blue haze terrified him. Both added up to very bad things. Struggling did little more then raise his blood pressure but he did feel marginally better. The struggles where his own actions; instead of whispered orders that did not sound like orders. 

“Clint, you're gonna be alright.” Natasha’s voice cut into the haze, echoing in his ears. His head rolled on his shoulders at her voice. He fought not to look at her. It was calming to find that he could do such things now. To actually choose to do something or not. 

“You know that? Is that what you know? I got... I got to go in though. I gotta flush him out.” The words came slowly, tasting like ash and feeling like rocks. He tested the restraints again. Partially just because he could. Mostly because he needed to move, needed to test his bodies reaction speed. He sensed her move more than heard her; head rolling so he could finally look at her. 

“You got to level out, that's gonna take time.” She was pouring something into a cup. He could just barely see that at the edge of his vision. It drove him nuts not being able to see everything someone was doing. And she knew it. His eyes met hers and suddenly the bond solidified again. Whatever that scepter was, it could sever a bond. Left him hollow and aching as he had tried to ignore the emptiness. But that was like trying to ignore a missing limb that was still bleeding. Still it calmed him to feel it return, to feel her against him again. 

“You don’t….Nat?” His thoughts cut off as he shifted absently through the bond. It was a habit of his, when he was annoyed. The bond was different though. With something new within it, another Sentinel. Who ever it was desperately needed the bond though. Fuck, he thought they had been heartbroken at times. But this guy (and he knew it was guy, that much he could tell) felt like he was missing everything. That hurt in a whole new way. One that made him very very unhappy about it. 

“Steve Rogers. Yes, that Steve. SHIELD found him while you were with Selvig. He’s on board but… the rumors of him and James Barnes were not unfounded,” Natasha spoke softly, looking at him carefully. He did not need the bond to know that was as much as she was going to give him at the moment. They were surrounded by people they did not trust that much. (Really, Clint was sure the Agents on board were not so trusting of him anymore either.) They needed a place talk though and soon. Maybe do more than talk. Though figuring out how Captain America figured into all this would have to happen first. 

“Just my luck. I’m part of a crazy bond that has more than three people and my brain feels like jelly after someone ran it threw a blender.” He groaned, lightly touching the bond because that’s all he can do at the moment. Any more revelations and he might just fall into the deep end. Well, actually if Stark joined them Clint would have been able to handle that. 

“How'd you get him out?” She smirks at him. Barely, just a hint of an upturned corner of her mouth, but he can see it. It calms him to see it; gets her a strained smile in return as he waits for an answer. Cause he would really like to know. Getting that monster out of his head was important. 

“Cognitive recalibration. I hit you really hard in the head.” He snorts back a laugh. Ya, that was something Natasha would do. If she can’t kill it, she will at least hit it. She moved the chair closer before sitting down again, looking him over carefully. His bound hand reached for her. It hurt, twisting his wrist enough to catch her fingers with his. They both needed it and he was going for it. The rest of SHIELD be damned. 

“Thanks.” The word is as sincere as he can make it. For a moment it’s just them. Two Sentinel’s recovering from being blindsided. They had years of practice centering each other. She moved quickly, sitting on the bed at his hip. Nimble fingers that could both kill and drive someone mad with pleasure slipped from his. Her eyes darted down to the cuff as she worked it off him. He watched her face even with her fingers ghosting over his skin. 

“Nat, how many agents did I-?” Her head nearly snapped up to look at him again. The heat in her eyes warns him first. 

“Don’t.” Her tone was nearly sharp enough to cut. Usually he only gets that tone when he’s done something really _really_ stupid. “Don't do that to yourself, Clint. This is Loki. This is monsters and magic and nothing we were ever trained for.”

“Loki, he got away?” She just nods, getting up to check the door. He turned, looking at the table with the pitcher and glasses. Testing them tells him it’s only water and he took one; draining the glass quickly. 

“Don't suppose you know where?” She asked. That’s his Nat, always seeking information. Piecing shit together to find out who she has to punish. 

“Didn't need to know. Didn't ask. He's gonna make his play soon though. Today. “ He poured himself another glass, downing it just as quickly. It failed to chase away the foul taste in his mouth. 

“We gotta stop him.” She turned, looking at him sharply. This is as close to desperate that Clint has ever seen her. It sets off alarms in the deepest parts of himself. 

“Nat? What happened?” For one agonizing moment Clint feared the worst. He’d seen that look once before; in budapest. After their handler betrayed them. Sold them out to the very hate group they had been tracking. Sold them out for being Sentinels. Abominations. She had gotten that look after they found out and watched a 16 year old Guide beheaded in front of them. 

“Not what you think. Tony is fine.” She went to sit next to him, looking at him openly. Clint leaned against her. The tension in his shoulders eased as he pressed closer to her. He was not losing the only Guide who had yet to run screaming in the other direction once they met Natasha without at least meeting them. He deserved that much after all the shit he had put up with over the years. A sharp smack on the back of his head told him Natasha knew what he was thinking. 

“Alright. Then what happened? This isn’t you Nat. You like ending wars before they start, not wading into them. What did he say to you?” She looked at him, quiet for a long moment. He knows then that a full answer is elusive at the moment. Later, when their home in the apartment that they both nearly obsessively go over for anything that hinted at a bug, will she give him a full answer. His head turned so he could press a kiss to her shoulder; SHIELD agents be damned. It earns him a glare and a sharp knuckle to his thigh. 

“I’ve been compromised.” Clint hated those words. To her, those words meant a weakness that needed to be purged. Old programing that he couldn’t banish from her mind. Even if he wished he could. Removing that last vestige of programing would break her. Even with a Guides help. And Clint will never willingly break her, not after all the shit she’s already been through. 

He glared out the window of the room, pressing a little harder against her side. The agent outside looked away from the window. Prefect. Gentle fingers on her chin got Natasha to look at him and he stole a kiss. She jabbed her fingers into the sensitive underside of his ribs but it lacked her usual power. It earns her a grunted chuckle when he backs off. 

“Not broken,” he teased, smirking at her. She pushed her thumb up under the rib itself and twisted with a muted glare. He coughed, pulling back quickly. Damn if that didn’t hurt. Still it’s not as hard as she could have done.

“Later,” she whispered. Which was fine. He’d gotten her to stop thinking about being compromised for the moment. And hopefully headed off any punishment training she’d try to pull on herself. After a few minutes he went to the bathroom. Splashing water on his face and cleaning up a little; trying to feel a little human again. When he came out Rodgers was there, asking if Natasha knows how to fly a jet. He jumps at the chance to help, refusing to let them go after Loki alone. 

 

~~~~~~~

The battle was going well, all things considered. Clint was still not happy with how far behind Ironman the Quinjet had gotten. Knowing what he does of Tony, Clint would bet good money that the genus had confronted Loki in that time. And that terrified him. So utterly and completely to his core. He knew what Loki was capable of. What it felt like to have that staff rip out all the parts that make someone who they are and filled the places with poisoned whispers. 

But the confrontation did not lead to Tony facing that. Clint was nothing if not grateful for that. Being unmade was not something he would wish on anyone. There was no complaint though, when he heard Tony snap at them about making a trip through drive-thru. 

“Stark? Got a lot of strays sniffing your tail.” He fights to keep his tone even and professional; wanting to call the man by his name but he lacks the right to do so. The group is too far for him to get an accurate shot off. He took down a few more flyers as he watched Tony. 

“Just trying to keep them off the streets.” He heard the grunt as Ironman clipped a little too close to a building. 

“Well, they can't bank worth a damn. Find a tight corner.” He smirked, taking down another few flyers that were getting too close to Rogers. 

“I will roger that.” Clint watched, keeping tabs on the rest, as Tony shot down a tunnel. Flames erupted from one end and Tony shot out the other, a tumbling wreckage of one the Chitauri’s flyers bouncing out after him. Clint snorted, smirking. Always with the style. 

“What else you got?” Ya, Clint could definitely see letting this man watch his back. 

“Well, Thor's taking on a squadron down on Sixth,” he offered, watching for new angles of attack. 

“And he didn't invite me... “ He nearly laughed at the teasing annoyance. Was surprised he could, really. At least it sounded like teasing annoyance. Maybe he was starting to crack. 

The battle continued on as Tony joined Thor for a bit before flying off again. They were all over the place; trying to match the might of an army with five people. Hulk and Thor seemed to be taking out the space whales (Clint was so going to coin that phrase) easily enough. But the things were dropping troops like flies. Several were quickly getting much far too close to Clint as he tried to cover to Steve who was still on the streets below. Natasha was somewhere on one of the flying sleds trying to get to the tower. (It made him queasy not being able to see her.) Tony blasted some of Clint's new wall crawling friends and giving him a bit more breathing room. 

Until suddenly he was out of shafts. He recovered the last one he used quickly, removing the head before jumping off the side of the building. He fired off a grapple arrow and ended up swinging into a window and crashing landing on his quiver. Fuck that hurt. He was unable to move from the pain for several long moments. The fear of a broken back was a real thing for a time. At least until he was able to roll to his side. 

He must have blacked out a for a bit because the next thing he heard was Natasha in his ear. She was calling for com check, stating she could close the portal. Steve gave her the order to do it and Tony comes on next, telling them to wait. Someone apparently had ordered a nuke to be launched. Clint makes a silent promise to find out who and shove an explosive arrow up their ass. 

“Stark, you know that’s a one way trip.” Steve’s words haunt him. Because of course Tony was going even if the other man never answered. Clint forced himself up, staggering to the broken window. He looked up, eyes locking on the red and gold armor as Tony forced the missile up, just barely clearing Stark Tower. It’s an effort to watch him go and Clint made himself watch. There was his (and somehow that just felt right to claim Tony as his) Guide going to near certain death. The last respectful thing Clint could do for the man was watch him go. 

He hated the world at that moment. Hated that he nearly had the one damn thing he held out hope for; only to have it ripped from him before it could fully be his. Before Tony could full be his. Guilt and grief start to bubble up within him. For once, he can’t fight it down. To unsettled by this whole thing. He watched Tony vanish through the portal, breaking apart as he did. 

Steve was the one to make the call. He knows that Natasha will follow the order; knows that she will blame herself for years to come after this. Just as Clint may never be able to look at Steve without wanting to throttle him. The portal closed slowly, leaving a few seconds of hope before Clint just has to look away. He nearly dropped to his knees, staring at the ground that several floors away. It was all just gone. He just zoned out on it all.

Clint didn’t come back to himself until someone grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him from the window. Training was the only thing that got him moving, countering their hold and almost landing a hit before he saw that it was Natasha. He just froze when he saw her, going limp in the hold she has him in, eyes itching with something he would never name. She was speaking, shaking him. When he still didn’t seem to hear her she signed it instead. 

‘He’s alive, focus!’ He blinked, watching her sign them again at least three times before his brain caught up. Alive. Tony was alive. This time he did sink to his knees and she moved with him. Came the closest she ever would to cradling him close. 

“Alive, fuck it all,” Clint whispered. He pressed his forehead against her shoulder, the tension draining from him. It was far too likely that this whole thing was going to kill him. Not even bonded and he was already falling apart. Fingers tangled in his short hair, pulling his head up. She kissed him, hard and fast, biting at his lip to center him. The small pain brought back his flagging senses; woke him up. 

“Come on, we’re not done yet.” She rubbed a thumb against the back of his ear. A silent promise to make him feel alive in a whole other way later. He nodded, painfully climbing to his feet. Right, Loki. Than a bed and sleeping for a week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave Kudo's and Comments. They feed me.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? Is this an update? Why yes it is! Sorry for how long it's been. Life kinda jumped up and bit me hard. This was going to be longer but I wanted to get something up.

Bruce barely tasted the food before him. Which wasn't that different from any other time he ate post transformation. The one difference he did notice was the was the Other Guy was behaving. Right now he felt less like a rage monster and more like a mildly annoyed child. It was very odd describing the monster within as a child, but it was the best Bruce had. Strangely enough, he knew it had something to do with the Guide sitting to his right; toying with a paper napkin. 

Meeting Tony had been frightening, exhilarating and amusing all rolled into one. The man acted like a super rubber bouncy ball that someone had coated in a friction resistant material and thrown into an empty room. Amusing in thought and terrifying in application. A little breath taking too. Bruce could admit to that after watching Tony dance the math into what the engineer wanted it to do. All on a subject he had learned in a day; maybe less. 

Bruce glanced at the other man, slowly to keep the other Sentinel's in the room from jumping into another adrenaline rush. After watching Tony fly into a portal that led to the dead of space (in a suit Bruce was almost sure had no longer been environmentally sealed, if it ever had been) willingly, he wasn't about to set off all the protective instincts of every Sentinel in the room by moving to quickly. He nearly shuddered at the sleepy stirrings of the Other Guy. Who promptly settled back down once he was sure Tony was still in one piece. 

On Tony's other side, Thor shifted and looked up at Bruce. He was still chewing away at whatever it was they were eating, looking just as spent as the rest of them. Still, there was something about the way he looked at Bruce that made him, well not quiet uncomfortable but something close to it. The Other Guy gave another sleepy shifting before settling again. Strangely he felt comfortable with Thor guarding Tony's other side. Comfortable enough to basically do his version of passing out. 

“Right... So I don't about the rest of you but I can't eat anymore. Time to go see the damage done and what the price tag is. Let's do this again, oh say, never.” Tony grunted, finally dropping his napkin. Bruce watched him stand on slightly unsteady legs, worry spiking. The memories he had from the Other Guy were hazy at best, but Bruce was sure the Iron Man suit had been badly damaged. How much radiation had Tony been unshielded to during that trip in the portal? Bruce stood rather abruptly when Tony managed a stumbling step towards the owners of the restaurant. 

“Relax big guy, I'm fine. My foot's just a sleep.” Tony grinned at him, patting his shoulder before stumbling off to pay for the food and possibly the damages. Thor watched Tony go, tense under Bruce's eyes. Bruce was trying to ignore the flushed shame from his sudden movement. Natasha was sitting upright again, watching him with narrow eyes and making him even more uncomfortable. She shifted back, one hand moving to rest on Clint's ankle once she seemed to determine something. (Probably if Bruce was a threat.) 

Steve was awake again, eyes on Tony's retreating back for one long moment before he looked away. Bruce met his eyes easily, let the man check him over before he did the same for the rest of them. The scientist nearly jumped when Thor clapped a hand on his shoulder, grinning at him. 

“All is well, good doctor.” Thor's voice carried a bit more then was properly necessary but no one seemed to mind. Bruce was more focused on the tingling warmth that flared from what little skin Thor had accidentally touched. It brought up a hazy, almost sharp feeling memory from the Other Guy of the same thing. Thor smiled a bit wider, squeezing his shoulder just hard enough to put a little more pressure on him. The action left Bruce marveling over how well Thor could moderate his strength. It was oddly comforting in a way Bruce didn't want to look at to closely. 

“Yeah...just...never mind,” Bruce mumbled, shrugging his other shoulder. He glanced quickly back at Tony without meaning to. 

“All is well and what is ours is safe. There is no need to worry. Not even your other will harm Anthony.” Thor's voice was much lower as he leaned a little closer to Bruce. That got Thor a look of blatant confusion. Bruce was unsure on what Thor's words meant. Theirs? Was Thor operating under the impression that Tony now belonged to them? That was not how things worked. Perhaps in Asgard but not on Earth. 

“Thor, I don't think you mean that the way it sounded...” Bruce watched Thor's face closely, wondering how much care he would have to tread with. Thor shook his head, grinning. 

“I have had Midgard's customs of Sentinel's and Guide's explained to me, Doctor. While on Asgard we call our pairs Protectorates, it is still the same there. Though we find our Bonded threw touch instead of sight. But I am not mistaken in this. You belong with us, just as Anthony does. Asgardians do not have three sided bonds, but I am told that is it not impossible for you here on Midgard.” Bruce barely kept himself from gaping at the taller man, the hand on his shoulder feeling just a bit heavier. He swallowed, nodding slowly as he processed the information. To hear that Thor believed Tony was his and that Bruce was apart of that, it was something akin to a dream. But there was no reason for Thor to lie about something so important. Later, after a bit of rest, Bruce mentally promised himself to ask for more information on how different things were on the two worlds. 

“I...I hadn't dared to hope,” Bruce admitted in a low tone. Thor seemed to hear him anyway and squeezed his shoulder again. The thunder god smiled at him a little sadly even as he stepped closer to Bruce's space. How he made it feel less like he was crowding and more like he was protecting, Bruce didn't know. But the Other Guy didn't even twitch in the back of his mind. (And wasn't that odd, to have the Other Guy trust anyone so completely.) 

“Always have hope, for neither of us will abandon you.” Bruce gave Thor a small smile, relaxing a little under the pure honesty the other was giving him. 

“Do you two want a private room?” Tony's words brought Bruce back to the room even as hot flush of something started under his skin. He forced himself to think passed that. Thor's chuckle made him shiver as he looked between them. 

“No, I think we're good for now.” Bruce hoped his words were even as he tried to joke. Tony just smirked at him, eye's a little darker from whatever image his mind was coming up with. The smaller man stepped closer, eyeballing them both for a few careful seconds. 

“Well, when you need one then, I'm sure I can find a place.” The growl from behind them stilled the conversation. Thor's eyes narrowed as he half turned, looking back at the table behind them. Bruce knew that look. Understood the look that stated someone was over stepping a line and both sides were unwilling to back off. 

Clint was flat out glaring at the three of them. His hands were still gripping the plate in his lap but there was no mistaking that look. A look between protective and possessive. Bruce could see Natasha's fingers tightening around the archer's ankle even as Steve looked at the two of them in surprise. Bruce closed ranks with Thor without thinking, keeping Tony behind them. He didn't understand why Clint was acting this way, acting like Thor and Bruce had made an attempt on his territory. 

Before either could even think to speak, Natasha leaned closer to Clint. It was clear she was whispering something to him, spoken in several different languages. The tension eased the more Natasha spoke. Clint went back to leaning back against the back of his chair, posture relaxed again. Whatever had set him off seemed to dealt with now. But not for good if the way Clint's eyes kept darting back to them was anything to go on. 

“Well, that was....weird. I'm tired and want to go home. Don't know about the rest of you, but I plan on sleeping for three days,” Tony grunted out and smirked at the eyes now on him. Bruce was quickly learning that Tony was excellent at using attention on himself to get away from touchy subjects. “If you don't have a place to go for a few days I'm sure I can figure something out. If you want it, if not then well by all means, you know where to find me.” 

“I am honored by your generosity, Anthony.” Thor gave Tony a short little head bow. It made Bruce smile since he understood the significance. Tony just snorted, shrugging as he looked away quickly. It was a tell that Bruce was starting to think signaled when Tony was uncomfortable. From a Guide who was use to people thinking the worst of him, it wasn't surprising. 

“Are we going up to that tower of yours? I'd rather not face your CEO. Not after the Other Guy put several holes in your new floor.” Bruce flushed, shuffling on his feet a little. Tony grinned, chuckling. 

“What's the matter, Brucie? Afraid of a little CEO?” Tony was back to teasing again. It soothed Bruce to hear that he was back to teasing. Teasing was better than flat out needling any day. 

“Anyway, ya, I have to go back to the tower for awhile anyway. Check on my staff and making sure the building isn't about to fall into a crumbling mess. After that, well I have other properties with bedrooms to pass out in.”Tony shrugged, smirking at them. 

“I think...we should help with cleaning up this mess.” Steve spoke up after Tony finished. Bruce could agree with that thinking but the Other Guy was well and truly out of it and would be for awhile to come. He wouldn't be of any help. If he felt like helping at all. Tony must have been thinking along the same lines as him because his next words were sharp. 

“While I'm sure you and Thor would be more then capable of keeping up with helping drag around pieces of buildings and alien whale bodies, I know very well that Bruce is not a heavy lifter. Technically he's not that kind of doctor either, as far as I am aware of. And Big Green is probably out cold and thus unable to help as well. The assassin twins probably need to check in with old one eye to give him a full sit rep on what happened. Their skill set is probably not along the lines of heavy lifting anyway. 

“And as for me? I'm actually pretty fucking useless when it comes to moving large iron beams. The suit is trashed, so that's not going to happen. What I can do is mostly related to bitching to people on the phone and throwing enough money around to house the workers that will have to be brought in. Not to mention getting out the several privet contracts we have with smaller inventors to get their temporary housing options up. Hopefully before the end of the week. Because leaving it to FEMA is just out of the question.” 

Bruce barely kept from touching Tony to get his attention, remembering all to vividly the argument that had sparked between Steve and Tony last time. He took a half step closer to Tony all the same, keeping himself calm from years of practice. Feeling when Tony noticed it was easy, calming him further at the very slight smile that the Guide gave him. It was better then any other guide who had helped stabilize Bruce on those first few years after the accident. And Bruce was not going to give this up for all the riches in the world. 

“That's.....that's not what I was saying. I know we would each be able to help in other ways.” Steve's voice is no longer as steady as it had been. The other Sentinel knew he over stepped somewhere. Bruce could hear it in his voice and see it from the way Steve shifted uncomfortably in his seat. A sharp feeling of relief filled the scientist when neither side tried to bring up the argument from before. Part of him knew the staff was the influence that blew everything so far out of proportion. (And Tony didn't have the fine control that a few other Guides had managed to train themselves to have.) 

“Perhaps it would be better if we each allowed healers to see us first. And then got a bit of rest. Fighting an army with only six people is no easy thing even for we Asgardians. There are others to handle the clean up while we rest. And when they need to rest, we will be ready to take over for them.” Thor spoke evenly, sounding very much like a war leader. Unsurprisingly really, given what little Bruce knew about Norse history. He made a mental note to ask Thor about it later. After they have followed through with Thor's very reasonable request. 

“Healers?” Clint looked slightly confused, having missed out on most of the opportunities on the helicarrier to listen to Thor's manner of speaking. Bruce was the first to answer. 

“That's their version of Doctors.” Thor's shoulders sag a little, looking between the two men. 

“You use the same word for too many different meanings. How is one to tell what someone is saying?” The thunder god was not pouting, but Bruce was willing to bet it was a near thing. It was strangely endearing. 

“Context.” Natasha and Tony both speak in the same moment. The uncertainly that leaked from Tony was enough to make Bruce tense. Something had happened between Natasha and Tony. Something that made Tony mentally stumble over himself. And Natasha to look at Tony like he was threat. It broke Bruce's heart to see any Sentinel treat a Guide in such a manner. 

There were a few seconds of utter silence in the room. It's not even broken by the owners of the restaurant cleaning up. All eyes are on the suddenly tense and silent Guide in the room. Bruce watched Tony closely; worried. Thor broke the thick silence with clap of his hands. 

“I believe we are now in the way of these kind shop owners. They have fed us after our mighty battle and we should remove ourselves so they can clean what they can.” The words broke the tension but don't manage to dissipate it. Tony just nodded, smirking mask back in place as he started for the remains of the front door. Bruce, who was quickly learning to see through it, followed closely behind. He unashamedly placed himself between Tony and other Sentinel's that soon followed. Thor might have chuckled but Bruce didn't care at the moment. 

The Other Guy was awake again; reacting to Tony's fluctuating emotions. He was in agreement with Thor. Tony was theirs. And Natasha was distressing him. She was a threat to their Guide; to their territory. Bruce tried to impress upon the Other Guy that coming out to deal with this would only upset Tony more. Though how, Bruce wasn't sure. This was all still to new and the three of them (Tony, Thor and Bruce) needed to sit down to talk about this. No, the four of them. Bruce should not forget that the Other Guy was his own person. (Something that was going to take awhile to get use to.) 

“Right. So, knowing my own doctor as well as I do, Thor is right. I will go throw myself at Doc. Anderson's mercy as soon as I get to the tower. Who is coming with me?” Tony kept looking ahead of himself, pausing long enough for someone to actually answer him as he kept walking. 

“That Tower of yours sounds better then HQ right now.” Bruce could hear the tremble in Clint's voice. The man must be floundering after all of this. While Bruce really had the urge to just lock Tony, Thor and himself in a room as soon as he could, he could understand how the archer was in need of someone to help him settle. The last few days have been a whirl wind of emotions and tension for everyone involved. Having someone else unwillingly in Clint's mind did not help with any of that either.

“Well, there is still the broken glass and the body shaped dents in the floor of the penthouse but it's stable. I think. Mostly stable, let's go with that. And really I'm thinking of finding a way to frame the floor. Because I kinda like how Big Green handled that.” Tony's words were coming out much faster now. His eyes moved to look at Bruce's before sliding away just as quickly. There was something about the way that Tony looked at him. Something off. It was possible the genus was unsure of a few of his words; on how they could be taken, but Bruce would need a bit more time to see if it was true. 

“Broken glass doesn't really bother me.” Clint's words were even, leaving Bruce to wonder if the archer had ever been forced to sleep near broken glass. The thought left a foul taste in his mouth. 

“Given the state of your Kevlar, that is unsurprising.” Tension started to rise between the small group again, starting mostly from Tony. Bruce's fingers twitch in his desire to reach out and touch the genus; to reassure him that someone has his back at the moment. But he wasn't sure how Tony would react to that. There was a little trust between them, but it was small and easily fleeting. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tony tried not to fidget on the way back to the Tower. Rogers and Romanoff had left the group a few minutes before. Something about taking the stolen Quinjet back to Fury. (And wasn't that a funny thing to find out? Captain America had stolen a military jet! Rhodey would just love to hear that.) Their leaving cut down the group of Sentinel's and should have let him relax just a little. Instead his skin felt very tight and there was a nervous tick in his fingers. Having less Sentinel's around him made him feel exposed. Like there were now weaknesses exposed with their leaving. 

He bypassed the large group of people practically huddled around the front doors of his tower. (Big ugly building his ass. Rogers was going to eat those words soon enough.) A locked backdoor and elevator ride later let the smaller group out at Tony's personal medical floor. Pepper always insisted that any Stark building have something similar to a basic first aid station to keep people a bit more safe. And Tony let her, mostly because she seemed to worry less about him with them there. 

“Hey Doc, I'm alive!” Tony grinned, already planning on turning right around and leaving. Anderson, his physician of just over two decades, was well educated on Tony's medical avoidance tactics. She quickly passed off what looked like a check list to one of her nurses and hurried over to him. Tony had never really come up with a good way to name her walk because she was never angry or really in a frenzied hurry when she came to him. 

The woman was the perfect picture of medical calm under fire at all times. Auburn hair done up in a tight bun with any short strands carefully kept pinned in place. She always wore a three quarter sleeved shirt and black jeans but never the white lab coat. That might have been a violation of medical code somewhere, but lab coats made Tony nervous. And since Anderson only ever saw to his personal health anyway, she just never wore one. 

“Nice to see you actually show up after a fight. I'd hate to have to dance around JARVIS again. Then again, you don't normally have people escorting you to me.” There was a hint of a smirk in her professional smile as she stepped closer. Or she tried to. Her movements were very effectively blocked when Barton stepped between her and Tony. That was not something Tony had seen coming. 

“Are you denying me access to my patient, Sir?” Before meeting Anderson, Tony had never seen brown eyes go that icy. Now, he was very use to it; though for whatever reason Anderson never looked at him with those icy eyes. 

“No, he's not. We're all still a bit jumpy, I think.” Tony stepped carefully around Barton. He didn't touch the other man but was very much aware of the other man. A part of him was hyper aware of the archer for some reason. Actually if he was being honest, Tony had been hyper aware of all the Sentinel's he found around him at the moment. He wasn't sure what to make of that. His skin itched in a way that he kinda hoped meant he just needed a shower. Because all of this was starting to make him nervous. And a nervous Tony was a flighty Tony. 

“So, where do you want me?” He grinned, looking at her. It was a grin of all teeth and flash that she was very familiar with. 

“My office will work. Do they need to be checked over?” Anderson asked Tony the question; knowing he was her first priority. It's one of the things he loved about her.

“If Shelby can get them to agree to it. I don't think he will though,” Tony answered, following her to her office. After Clint's reaction to either Anderson's words or her movements, stirring up the Sentinel's would be counter-productive. And possibly send Clint into a feral episode after the whole Loki and his scepter of anti-friendship mind control thing. Really, Tony was sure someone needed to sit down with the archer to help him center. Part of him itched to do just that, but Tony was certain Romanoff would cut his balls off for trying. 

Tony flopped into the chair before Anderson's desk. He leaned back to stretch out before surrendering his arm for the standard check of blood pressure and heart rate. This part didn't bother him really. The lack of needles and endless questions was always a good thing. Though the needles would be coming out shortly, he knew that. It was stupid to think Anderson would do anything other than insist on taking proper samples. 

“I am not pin cushion.” Anderson just chuckled at his usual quip when she finished with the basics. 

“Well, good thing I'm out of pins then.” She grinned before turning to gather up three vials. “Just these three, promise.” 

Tony glared at them on principal. He hated needles. Damn things where annoying and needless. He held out his arm all the same, to tired to bother fighting with her at the moment. JARVIS would have to give her the medical readings from the suit later. Focusing on how to fix the mess that was the Iron Man suit helped him ignore the prick of the needle. A short time later Anderson had all the blood she needed. (Why did doctors have to be vampires anyway?) 

“If you ask for anything more I swear I will...”

“Nothing else Mr. Stark. Except I will recommend a few hours of rest. I'd ask for more but I know you all too well.” Anderson chuckled, wrapping a red co-flex bandage around his elbow. Tony snorted, standing up. 

“You are asking for the impossible,” he grinned, pointedly not looking at the blood samples. All the data was going on JARVIS' servers anyway so that was one less worry. Another thing he liked about her so much. She worked with all his inconsistencies. The room outside her office was mercifully empty. No nurses or Sentinel's to deal with. Good. Maybe he could slip off and hide for the rest of forever. 

Or not; considering there was a Norse god of Thunder, his new favorite Science Bro, and one very annoyed looking archer waiting just outside in the hallway. Great, a pow-wow of Sentinel's. Just what he needed. He ached in places he didn't know he could ache in and they wanted to do whatever this was turning into. Prefect. 

“Right, shall we head up then?” His tone was a little clipped when he asked, but really he was past the point of caring for the moment. He was tired, cranky and there were far to many Sentinel's whose very presence was uncomfortable for him. Well, maybe uncomfortable was not quiet the right word to the feeling Tony was getting around them. But it was a big part of it. That and something a bit more carnal but he was going to try and ignore that part. Because really, if Barton didn't skin him Pepper would. And he liked Pepper more.

“Actually I...” Barton started, jaw clicking shut hard enough that Tony thought he might chip a tooth. There were tiny lines of stress around his eyes that made Tony twitchy. Barton wasn't projecting wildly yet, but the man needed to take time to decompress. To center himself again so he wouldn't fly off the handle if someone made his coffee wrong or something. 

Tony didn't speak, eyes still looking over Barton carefully. It would be best to see if Barton was going to finish that first. Must have been something the agent desperately needed to say or he would have kept quiet. 

“I should... go.” The words sounded more like something that had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the light. Barton's tense shoulders clued Tony in on how much the other man very definitely wanted to stay put. His Guild gifts might have been worth shit but coupled with his genius he could in fact see when people were denying themselves something. Well, he could see when a Sentinel was anyway. 

“You don't have to.” Tony worked to keep his tone as even as he could manage. The wrong tone could send Barton into a protective rage. With two other Sentinel's in the room, that would end poorly. _Very_ poorly. Tony was only partially sure that none of them would attack him but it was a theory he could keep from testing. 

“But I should...” Barton looked at him, eyes searching for something. It felt like he was being tested for something. Like Barton wanted to see just how he would react to being told that. Which made zero sense to Tony. Romanoff had already found him lacking in the Guide department so why was Barton acting like this was a test? Being rejected twice was something Tony felt he could skip, thank you very much. 

“If that's what you need to do. No one's going to keep you here. Drop a line if you want to.” Tony turned from him, reinforcing his walls. It was best if he just kept as far from either of the super spies as he could. That was the safest option. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Thor lingered in front of the door he had been directed to. After the odd interaction between the archer Barton and Tony; the archer had left and Tony had all but rushed to place he considered safe. Barton's stiff movements had put Thor at odds with himself. He had dinned with Barton after fighting along side him. That at least made them allies. Yet the man's presence upset Thor's Bonded for a reason he was not yet privy to. A reason that he might never know why. And that cut deeper then Thor was ready for. 

“Shall I inform Sir of your presence, Thor?” The god-ling looked up at the top of the door. This herald was another thing that Thor did not rightly understand yet. Still, JARVIS was important to Tony; beloved even, if Thor was reading the other man right. Tony trusted the incorporeal being in ways that gave Thor hope. Hope that the damage could be healed; if only a little bit. 

“If you would be so kind to do so, Sir JARVIS? There is something of importance I wish to speak with him about.” There was silence for a moment in the hallway. Thor had been informed that this was not Tony's personal workspace so he was hopeful that his intrusion would not cause undo harm. The damage his brother had already dealt to Tony's home and the city surrounding it was enough for the time being. Thor would need to speak to his mother as soon as he was free to do so. She always had some wisdom on how to handle such things. 

“Sir has agreed to speak with you.” The tone JARVIS had was perhaps a bit tight but Thor was uncertain if he had that right. Midgardians were more open with their feelings in their words in a way that Thor was not use to yet. The door opened to allow him in. When he stepped through it, Thor nearly stumbled to a stop. The room was alight with imagery from around the city. It hovered in the air around Tony; who was clearly manipulating the view portals with all the expert ease of a master at his craft. 

It was beautiful. Thor felt certain that word fell tragically short in describing what lay before him. He was woefully uneducated about Midgardian technology but this was the best he had yet to see. A thought that brought a sense of pride to him. Jane had once said that Stark Tech was the best there was. And here was the proof; even if the workshop was not Tony's personal one. 

“Well, nice to know you can spot the best work on earth.” Tony's words reminded Thor why he was there. He could marvel at his Bonded's work later. The look Tony was giving him though made his heart ache. It was guarded in a way that suggested to many had wanted Tony only for what he could get them. He was clearly expecting the same from Thor. But the opened door spoke of a possible hope that Thor would not hurt him like so many others had. Thor nodded; gathering his thoughts. 

“I do not wish to make you uncomfortable but there is something of importance we must ...”

“Oh god, stop. Whatever it is you want to talk about; just say it. Your making it sound like someone died.” Tony made a face, shaking his head even as he interrupted Thor. Thor smiled, a part of him appreciating the urge to skip all manner of courtly ways. Yes, this man was quickly showing just how well matched they really were. 

“Very well. You are my Bonded.” There was a moment of silence after Thor's words. He had anticipated as much. It was rather shocking to have someone come up and just announce something like that. 

“Hold up here, Shakespeare. I think you've gotten some very bad information. Cause I don't even know what the hell a Bonded is...” Tony looked like he was just starting to work up a very long rant. While it might make Tony feel better later; Thor was sure letting him get rolling would not help either of them in the long run. 

“Bonded are Asgard's version of your Sentinels and Guides, Anthony.” Tony stared at him for a long moment; looking perhaps a little dumbfounded. 

“So what? Our little tree dance was your way of testing me?” Thor swallowed back the churning in the back of his throat at that reminder. That was a shame he would carry for a lifetime. 

“No. On Asgard Bonded's find each other through touch. It was not until you touched my arm that I knew what we were to each other. That does not excuse my actions though.” Tony out right sneered at his words, looking not at Thor but a wall off to his left. 

“Right, because Guide's are the weaker half.” The words were sharp; wielded like a knife between them. But Thor was well versed in handling weapons after all. 

“No. My actions were unbecoming of anyone in my fathers court, let alone his own son, when visiting another realm. It was more the fear of what Loki could do with the Tesseract that led to my actions. That is still not a good enough reason.” His confession had the desired effect of knocking Tony's attack off balance. “Also, we do not call our Bondeds by such names. They are only Protectorates. A Pair meant to work in perfect rhyme with each other. There is no stronger or weaker. Only the Pair.” 

“Well that's....different.” Tony shifted his weight, resting back against the table behind him. The subtle movement eased some of Thor's worry. It was more of a stand down then a relaxing movement but it was a start. 

“It is indeed very different. Perhaps when I return we might see where this goes?” Tony studied him carefully. It was a look Loki had given him many times when he suspected a trick of some kind on his part. Thor ached with that loss; shoving it aside for the time being. He could face the loss of his brother in all but the physical way later. “You do not have to answer now. But I wish you would think on it.” 

Tony nodded, silent as he processed Thor's words. There was something in his eyes that almost looked like doubt. Thor might never get use to how much seeing that in Tony's eyes made him ache for the other man. 

“It wasn't just fear in that forest, was it?” Tony's eyes were sharp even as his words were spoken carefully. It was like being pinned; for just a moment. Those too sharp brown eyes taking in information in a way that must have been dizzying. 

“No. Until my father sent me here, I believed my brother to be dead.” Thor admitted easily, “Shock and betrayal do not give me any more of an excuse for my actions.” Tony nodded more to himself than to Thor; clearly coming to a decision. 

“Alright fine. Worse things could happen.” Thor chuckled, watching him. 

“If I blunder, all I ask is that you tell me? There is much I do not know of Midgard. One last thing, I have been told that Triads are not uncommon here. The good Doctor Banner reacted to me as you did. He asked me for time to think on it but did say he would come speak with you when you were ready to do so.” 

“Wait what....? So I wasn't....huh, well now. This might just work after all,” Tony spoke quickly. He shifted, stepping away from the table and starting to pace a little, muttering to himself. Thor smiled, pleased with this reaction. Banner had been worried about all of this. Thor might just be able to lay a few of those worries to rest before he left. And he knew the two would be in good hands with each other while he was gone. 

“I shall leave you to your work now, Anthony.”

“Tony. Fuck I hate Anthony...” Tony tossed at him without actually looking as him, still running over the information in his head. Thor chuckled softly to himself, nodding. 

“Tony then.” Thor turned for the door, smiling as he left the room. He would leave Tony to his work with the hope that Tony might one day trust him enough to shot Thor a bit more. 

“If I may, Master Thor?” Thor paused, looking back at the top of the door. 

“Yes, Sir JARVIS?” 

“Sir very much enjoys learning new things from different places. Perhaps if you were allowed to show him something?” Thor nodded, smiling again. 

“I shall see what can be done, Sir JARVIS.”


End file.
